John Spencer (born John Speshock Jr.; December 20, 1946 – December 16, 2005) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by American actor John Spencer on the television serial drama ''The West Wing''. This role earned Spencer the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2002. ...
on the
NBC political drama series ''
The West Wing'' and for his role as attorney Tommy Mullaney in ''
L.A. Law''. His performance on ''The West Wing'' earned him a
Primetime Emmy Award in 2002.
Early life
John Spencer was born John Speshock Jr., on December 20, 1946, in New York City, and was raised in
Totowa, New Jersey.
[ He was the son of blue-collar parents Mildred (née Benzeroski), a waitress, and John Speshock Sr., a truck driver. Spencer's father was of Irish and Czech descent, while his mother was of ]Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
and Rusyn
Rusyn may refer to:
* Rusyn people, an East Slavic people
** Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people
** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people
** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people
* Rusyn language, an East Slavic l ...
ancestry.[ Spencer’s parents were disappointed when he chose to become an actor. With his enrollment at the Professional Children's School in ]Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in 1963, Spencer found himself sharing classes with such fellow students as Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...
and violinist Pinchas Zukerman. He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...
, but did not complete a degree.[Lee, Jennifer 8]
"Obituary: John Spencer, 'West Wing' actor"
''The New York Times''. December 17, 2005. Spencer often referred to himself as a "dyed-in-the-wool liberal" and described Franklin Delano Roosevelt as one of his heroes.
Career
Spencer began his television career on '' The Patty Duke Show'', and eventually began appearing in supporting roles in feature films commencing with 1983's '' WarGames''. He won an Obie Award for the 1981 off Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
production of ''Still Life'', about a Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
veteran, and received a Drama Desk nomination for '' The Day Room''. In 1986 he appeared on Broadway as Dan White, the killer of Harvey Milk, in '' Execution of Justice'', alongside Stanley Tucci and Wesley Snipes. Spencer became a full-fledged supporting actor with the hit 1990 courtroom thriller '' Presumed Innocent'', portraying a tough veteran homicide detective, starring opposite Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
. Spencer's work also extended to video games, portraying the role of Captain Hugh Paulsen in the 1995 video game '' Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom''. Spencer's subsequent film and television work primarily consisted of supporting roles such as a colleague and friend to Billy Crystal's basketball ref in '' Forget Paris'' and a prickly FBI official in Michael Bay's film '' The Rock''.
L.A. Law
In 1990 Spencer joined the cast of the television series '' L.A. Law'', playing street wise attorney Tommy Mullaney from 1990-1994. Spencer originally wasn't going to take the role but after reading 5 pages of the script he was convinced and said "it was one of the best scripts I’d read". Spencer said his character’s disheveled wardrobe was based on his own. Spencer said he and co star Cecil Hoffman spent time in New York City to prepare for the role.
The West Wing
In 1999, Spencer was cast as Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by American actor John Spencer on the television serial drama ''The West Wing''. This role earned Spencer the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2002. ...
on the NBC political drama series '' The West Wing''. Spencer's character was White House Chief of Staff to fictional U.S. President Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character from the American television serial drama ''The West Wing'' created by Aaron Sorkin and portrayed by actor Martin Sheen. The role earned Sheen a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Televi ...
. Like Spencer, McGarry was a recovering alcoholic and compulsive worker. McGarry's character was also a former US Air force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...
pilot who served in the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
Spencer's character would later be chosen as Jimmy Smits' character's running mate. Spencer's role on the show earned him the in 2002, for the show's third season episodes "Bartlet for America" and "We Killed Yamamoto."
Personal life
Spencer was married once and got divorced in the 1970s but had no children.
Spencer quit drinking in 1989 after over 20 years of addiction to alcohol.
Death
Spencer died of a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital on December 16, 2005, four days before his 59th birthday.[ p. 4.] At his private funeral, his '' West Wing'' castmate, Kristin Chenoweth, sang the musical number "For Good
"For Good" is a musical number from the hit musical ''Wicked''. It is sung as a duet between Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch of the South) as a farewell. The song's score and lyrics were written by composer Step ...
" from the Broadway musical '' Wicked''. Spencer's remains were interred at Laurel Grove Memorial Park in his hometown of Totowa, New Jersey.
Several paid tribute to him, including Martin Sheen, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina, Janel Moloney
Janel Moloney is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Donna Moss on the television series ''The West Wing'', a role for which she received nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series ...
, Richard Schiff, Alan Alda, Jimmy Smits, Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. Sorkin has earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime ...
, Allison Janney, James Mangold
James Allen Mangold (born December 16, 1963) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the films ''Cop Land'' (1997), '' Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), '' Walk the Line'' (2005), '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007), '' The Wolverine'' (2013) and '' Logan' ...
, David E. Kelley, and Bradley Whitford.
At the time of his death, Spencer had filmed two '' West Wing'' episodes that were in post-production – "Running Mates" and "The Cold"
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Awards
, -
, 1981
, ''Still Life''
, Obie Award
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, John
1946 births
2005 deaths
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Male actors from New Jersey
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male film actors
American people of Irish descent
American people of Czech descent
American people of Rusyn descent
American people of Ukrainian descent
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
California Democrats
Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni
Actors from Paterson, New Jersey
People from Totowa, New Jersey